Course Numbering Information

This reference details the course number policies currently in use at the University of Notre Dame from Summer 2005 to present and the previous guidelines used from 1970 through Spring 2005. It is also available in PDF format.

Period I – starting with the Summer 2005 term

These course numbering policies were implemented in the Summer 2005 academic term and are still the current guidelines. Courses in the University of Notre Dame's Course Catalog are identified with a subject code of up to four letters and a 5-digit course number. The 5-digit course number is all numeric and uses the following numbering conventions.

First Rule: The first digit in the 5-digit course number indicates the level of the course:

The last three digits of the course number are used by each academic department to meet their own curriculum structuring needs.

Period II - Before Summer 2005

The following course numbering policies were in effect from 1970 through the Spring 2005 semester. During this period, courses in the Course Catalog were identified with a subject code of up to four letters and a 3-digit or 4-digit alphanumeric course number using the following numbering conventions.

101 - 199 = Freshman courses200 - 299 = Sophomore courses300 - 399 = Junior courses400 - 499 = Senior courses and first year law student courses (The latter were open to graduate students for graduate credit with the permission of the department chairman and/or the Graduate School dean.)501 - 599 = Fifth year courses in five year programs, first year MBA courses, second year law courses, and graduate courses open to qualified undergraduates with the permission of the chairman of the department and/or class professor.600 and higher = Third year law courses, second year MBA, and all graduate courses were restricted to graduate students and were numbered in the 600's or higher.

A letter suffix on a course number was occasionally used to denote a completely different course or a type of course (examples: "L" for Lab, "D" for Drill, and "T" – Tutorials).

Questions about the numbering of courses should be addressed to the Office of the Registrar by emailing classreq@nd.edu or by calling Scott Ball at 574-631-8597.